Miscellanies 3.2.11 · Sophia Scriptura

Greek text · Stählin 2:200

Ξάνθος δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἐπιγραφομένοις Μαγικοῖς † μίγνυνται δὲ φησὶν οἱ Μάγοι μητράσι καὶ θυγατράσι καὶ ἀδελφαῖς μίγνυσθαι θεμιτὸν εἶναι κοινάς τε εἶναι τὰς γυναῖκας οὐ βίᾳ καὶ λάθρᾳ, ἀλλὰ συναινούντων ἀμφοτέρων, ὅταν θέλῃ γῆμαι ὁ ἕτερος τὴν τοῦ ἑτέρου. ἐπὶ τούτων οἶμαι καὶ τῶν ὁμοίων αἱρέσεων προφητικῶς Ἰούδαν ἐν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ εἰρηκέναι· ὁμοίως μέντοι καὶ οὗτοι ἐνυπνιαζόμενοι (οὐ γὰρ ὕπαρ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ ἐπιβάλλουσιν) ἕως καὶ τὸ στόμα αὐτῶν λαλεῖ ὑπέρογκα.

English · Claude translation

And Xanthus, in the work entitled Magica, says: “The Magi … consider it lawful to have intercourse with mothers, daughters, and sisters, and hold wives in common, not by force and in secret, but with both consenting, when one wishes to marry the other's wife.” It is of these, I think, and of similar heresies that Jude spoke prophetically in his letter: “Likewise these too, dreaming” (for they do not lay hold of the truth awake), as far as “and their mouth speaks arrogant things.”

About this passage

Source

Stählin 2:200 · Otto Stählin, ed., Clemens Alexandrinus, vol. 2, Stromata Buch I–VI, GCS 15 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1906); vol. 3, Stromata Buch VII und VIII, GCS 17 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1909) · Greek text: Otto Stählin, Clemens Alexandrinus 2–3 (GCS 15, 17, 1906–1909), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0

Text

As printed in Stählin, GCS 15, 17. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; the problem in this passage is discussed in the notes.

Translation

Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1906–1909); made independently of existing English translations.

Compare

Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2 (1885) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made) · Book 3 is left partly untranslated (in Latin) there.

Scripture

Jude 1:8 · quotation, high confidence
Jude 1:16 · quotation, high confidence

Topics

Heresy

Notes

Translation notes

The text of the Xanthus quotation is corrupt (dagger). The quotation is Jude 8–16.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (iota subscript missing): Ἰούδαν ἐν τῆ ἐπιστολῇ → Ἰούδαν ἐν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 3.2.11 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/3/2/11/).

Plain text

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 3.2.11 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/3/2/11/).